1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for end correction which is used in the correction of beveled ends of a strip member consisting of rubberized steel cords such as a steel belt for an automotive tire.
2. Prior Art
The automotive tire building operation includes a step in which a belt or strip member consisting of rubberized steel cords is wound on a forming drum. This strip member comprises a multiplicity of steel cords oriented obliquely with respect to its lengthwise axis and is cut to length along the steel cords on a conveyor belt before it reaches the forming drum. However, it happens at times that the resulting beveled end is bent to the right or left, and some apparatuses for correcting for this bend have already been developed.
By way of example, Japanese Kokai Patent Publication No. 63-116838 discloses an apparatus which comprises a pair of rotatable correcting arms disposed above the conveyor belt carrying the strip member and on both sides of the strip member, with the free ends of the respective arms facing the beveled end of the strip member so that when the beveled end of said strip member has arrived between said arms, one of the arms is inwardly swung into a predetermined position from its initial position parallel to the conveyor belt to thereby correct the beveled end and following the rotation of the same arm back into the position along the direction of advance of the belt, the other arm is swung inwardly to bring its end into abutment against the end of the first mentioned arm making a predetermined angle of inclination to thereby hold the cut end of said strip member and align it with a predetermined angle.
However, the above known apparatus is such that one of its correcting arms is swung in the breadthwise direction of the belt about one end thereof and when it returns to the initial parallel position after correction of the beveled end of the strip member, a clearance is produced between it and the strip member. Therefore, when the other arm is actuated to hold the beveled end of the strip member, the beveled end tends to be deformed by the force applied by the other arm.